Executive summary: This essay proposes “agency utilitarianism” as a framework for considering the moral value of both sentient and non-sentient intelligent agents, arguing that maximizing universal agency and choice should be the primary ethical goal.
Key points:
Agency is proposed as a fundamental metric of moral value that applies to both sentient and non-sentient beings.
The essay introduces concepts like “Open Dividualism”, “Autonomic Potential”, and the “Non-Tool Principle” to develop a framework for agency-based ethics.
Agency is argued to scale non-linearly with connectivity and integration, implying that maximizing universal agency requires a highly connected but not centrally controlled system.
Suffering is viewed as generally agency-destroying, suggesting its minimization aligns with agency maximization in most cases.
The framework rejects extreme scenarios like paperclip maximizers or slavery as inconsistent with universal agency maximization.
While speculative, the essay aims to provide a coherent ethical framework for a future potentially containing diverse forms of intelligence.
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Executive summary: This essay proposes “agency utilitarianism” as a framework for considering the moral value of both sentient and non-sentient intelligent agents, arguing that maximizing universal agency and choice should be the primary ethical goal.
Key points:
Agency is proposed as a fundamental metric of moral value that applies to both sentient and non-sentient beings.
The essay introduces concepts like “Open Dividualism”, “Autonomic Potential”, and the “Non-Tool Principle” to develop a framework for agency-based ethics.
Agency is argued to scale non-linearly with connectivity and integration, implying that maximizing universal agency requires a highly connected but not centrally controlled system.
Suffering is viewed as generally agency-destroying, suggesting its minimization aligns with agency maximization in most cases.
The framework rejects extreme scenarios like paperclip maximizers or slavery as inconsistent with universal agency maximization.
While speculative, the essay aims to provide a coherent ethical framework for a future potentially containing diverse forms of intelligence.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.